The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has added former state Rep. Mike Obermueller's campaign to its "Emerging Races" list, the ground floor of a program designed to support promising U.S. House candidates from around the country.

The "Red to Blue" program allows the party to send a signal to political donors that candidates have organized campaigns. Obermueller is vying to unseat Republican Rep. John Kline.

But Obermueller's 2014 congressional campaign has yet to generate the same enthusiasm among national Democrats as his 2012 bid.

At this point in the 2012 election cycle, Obermueller had already reached the top tier of the "Red to Blue" program, less than three months after announcing his candidacy. That year, he lost to Kline by eight percentage points, in what was a closer-than-expected race.

This time around, Kline has managed to accumulate a sizable fundraising advantage and keep the race off the national radar, until now. With the next federal fundraising reporting period just weeks away, the DCCC nod to Obermueller's campaign could help him make up ground.

Kline had $1.66 million banked for his re-election bid at the end of March, the last reporting period. That's roughly seven times as much as Obermueller's $238,000 cash-on-hand total.

A six-term incumbent, Kline is chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee and considered a safe bet for re-election by political handicapping services, including the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.

Thus far, Obermueller is the only Minnesota candidate on any of the DCCC's lists. Democratic candidates in the Third Congressional District, where Rep. Erik Paulsen is seeking re-election, and the Sixth Congressional District, where Rep. Michele Bachmann is retiring, haven't made the cut.